Chapter 13: The Feast and Draft Beer
“IT’S TIIIIIIIIIME FOR A FEASTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!”
The village chief’s thunderous roar shook the entire living room.
With a one-sho bottle of Soju I’d ordered online clutched in each hand, the old man tilted both bottles straight into his mouth and drank like a warrior dying of thirst in the desert.
…He was over a hundred years old.
Why was he this energetic?
“Still,” I muttered while staring at the chaos unfolding inside my house, “why are we holding the banquet here?”
“Well, Eight, that’s because I accidentally destroyed the village assembly hall while beating up the Inquisition Knights.”
“Ah.”
And so, for that very reason, my house had currently become the center of a full-scale village celebration.
People were drinking, singing, laughing, shouting—
The entire place had descended into utter mayhem.
“Come now, come now! Drink up, Grana-san!!”
“I-it is an honor, but I am rather weak with alcohol…”
“Chief, if you keep pressuring people to drink, I’m cutting you off.”
“My apologies, Grana-san.”
The chief obediently apologized before immediately returning to chugging Soju himself.
At least he listened when warned.
“Sir Eight… thank you for saving me.”
“Don’t worry about it. The chief drinks until he passes out, so if you seriously try to keep up with him, you’ll suffer.”
“I-is that so…?”
Shortly after I first arrived in this world, the chief had hosted a banquet to help me bond with the villagers of Papel.
Thanks to that, everyone accepted me surprisingly quickly.
…Though the whole thing began because the chief became fascinated by alcohol from another world.
I’d given him a bottle of Japanese sake as a gift.
Back then, I still didn’t know how to refuse people.
So every time he asked for more, I’d order additional alcohol online and keep pouring drinks for him.
“The result was a catastrophe. The next morning he wandered all over the village throwing up everywhere from the hangover. That incident led the rest of us to form the ‘Alliance to Prevent the Chief from Drinking Too Much,’ and honestly, that’s when everyone became really close.”
“T-that sounds horrible…”
It really had been awful.
But now that I thought about it, the distance between me and the villagers did shrink dramatically after we all spent the day cleaning up the chief’s vomit together.
Maybe the chief had done it on purpose—
…No.
Surely I was overthinking things.
“Eight.”
“No.”
“I haven’t said anything yet.”
“You were about to ask for alcohol, weren’t you?”
“I am delighted,” Raphiel said completely expressionlessly. “If someone had told the me from back at the temple that I would someday meet a person who understood me this well, I never would have believed them.”
Despite her blank face, she somehow looked absurdly pleased.
“No alcohol for children.”
“It appears you are unaware, Eight. In this world, drinking is permitted from the age of fifteen.”
“Please don’t lie so casually. How many years do you think I’ve lived here? In the Kingdom of Elde, alcohol is legal from eighteen onward.”
“…So you saw through me.”
This girl seriously never let her guard down.
Even so, Raphiel immediately began constructing a new argument in favor of drinking.
“Eight. I am a Saint. Saints are permitted to consume alcohol during sacred rites regardless of age.”
“…Grana, is that true?”
“Yes. That is correct. If it is part of a religious ceremony, Saints are indeed allowed to drink.”
If Grana said so, then it was probably true.
“In that case,” Raphiel declared calmly, “by the authority of the Saint, I hereby designate this banquet as a sacred rite. Therefore, Eight, please allow me to drink alcohol from your world.”
“…That’s definitely forcing the issue, but if it’s legally acceptable, I guess there’s no reason to stop you.”
“Sometimes it is important to ask boldly.”
“If you get drunk and start causing problems, I’m confiscating it immediately, got it!?”
Using my points, I purchased some random alcohol online and handed it over to Raphiel.
…Come to think of it, I was still technically underage, yet this online shopping system had absolutely no problem letting me buy alcohol.
Was that okay from a compliance standpoint?
Nope.
Best not to think too hard about it.
“Eight, what is this golden alcohol with such a rich aroma?”
“Draft beer. Don’t you have something similar in this world?”
“We do, but not like this. This one shines like transparent gold. Even the foam is much finer. It is… beautiful.”
“Really? I don’t know enough about beer to tell.”
“I shall partake.”
Raphiel lifted the frosty mug in both hands and tilted it back all at once.
“Gulp… gulp… puhaaaah!! Incredible sharpness, smoothness, and body!!”
“You sound like a middle-aged salaryman.”
“Hm. Referring to a beautiful young girl such as myself as a middle-aged man is terribly rude.”
Then she glanced at me.
“…By the way, Eight, are you not drinking?”
“I’m still only eighteen. In Japan—my country—you can’t legally drink until you’re twenty. I know it’s weird worrying about Japanese laws in another world, but… cola is good enough for me.”
It wasn’t that I had no interest in alcohol.
Watching the chief drink so happily made me curious.
But even knowing it was legal in the Kingdom of Elde, the moment I considered actually drinking, I still felt like I was doing something wrong.
“Such a serious person. If it were me, I would drink endlessly.”
“Is that really okay for a Saint to say? …Anyway, changing the subject, what’s going to happen to the tied-up Inquisition Knights?”
At my question, Raphiel paused mid-sip.
“…Though I may not be in a position to say this, their conduct has gone far beyond acceptable limits. I will leave the specifics to my guardian, Cardinal Larsa, but they spread false accusations claiming I had fallen into corruption. They will likely face execution.”
“…False accusations?”
“They are false.”
Raphiel answered with absolute certainty.
How could she say that with such a perfectly straight face?
“Changing the subject again,” I said, “what about your pilgrimage?”
“I believe we can blur the matter ambiguously enough that it resolves itself naturally. Therefore, I shall continue staying at your house for a while longer.”
“Wow.”
“Do you want me to leave, Eight?”
…That phrasing was unfair.
“W-well… I guess staying a little longer wouldn’t hurt.”
“Indeed, indeed. A harsh pilgrimage journey simply does not suit a beautiful girl like myself.”
“…Pfft. Haha. You called yourself a beautiful girl again.”
“An objective self-assessment based on observable facts,” Raphiel replied without changing expression even slightly.
I genuinely couldn’t tell whether she was joking or serious.
“Eight. I desire snacks suitable for pairing with this alcohol.”
“Yeah, yeah, I got it. I’ll whip something up.”
“Ooh, Eight!! Make snacks for me too!!”
“I’ll cook for you, so put some damn clothes on, old man!! Don’t go fully naked in someone else’s house!! Oi, stop swinging it around, you idiot!!”
Just as I started heading toward the kitchen—
A glowing magic circle suddenly spread across the tatami floor of the living room.
A faintly shining translucent door materialized in midair.
“Huh!? What now!?”
“Looks like Larsa finally arrived,” the chief muttered solemnly.
Still completely naked.
A moment later, the door slowly opened.
And from beyond it stepped a woman.
She looked slightly older than Raphiel, with golden hair and sapphire-blue eyes.
Her priestess robes were—
To put it mildly—
Shockingly revealing.
The neckline plunged low enough to heavily emphasize her ample chest, the slit in the skirt ran all the way to her waist, and black thigh-high stockings connected to garter belts peeked through the openings.
Calling it “priest attire” honestly felt misleading.
She was an overwhelmingly beautiful woman dressed in clothing so provocative it bordered on criminal.
“It has been quite some time, Fuldretch-sama—eh!? Why are you naked!?”
“Don’t concern yourself with trivial details.”
“Those are not trivial details!?”
Oh wow.
She actually seemed remarkably sane.